I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to providing verification information associated with a wireless terminal over a downlink power control channel in a wireless communication system.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication; for instance, voice and/or data may be provided via such wireless communication systems. A typical wireless communication system, or network, can provide multiple users access to one or more shared resources. For instance, a system may use a variety of multiple access techniques such as Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), and others.
Common wireless communication systems employ one or more base stations that provide a coverage area. A typical base station can transmit multiple data streams for broadcast, multicast and/or unicast services, wherein a data stream may be a stream of data that can be of independent reception interest to a wireless terminal. A wireless terminal within the coverage area of such base station can be employed to receive one, more than one, or all the data streams carried by the composite stream. Likewise, a wireless terminal can transmit data to the base station or another wireless terminal.
Wireless communication systems commonly provide power control for wireless terminal(s). For instance, a base station may measure power level(s) associated with wireless terminal(s) and evaluate whether to adjust such power level(s). The base station may effectuate power level adjustment determinations tailored to each wireless terminal, and provide wireless terminal specific control information back to each wireless terminal. However, conventional techniques for differentiating control information corresponding to each of the wireless terminals may be difficult and/or error prone. Power control channels providing power control information to disparate wireless terminals may be similar, such as in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system. Thus, for example, two or more wireless terminals may improperly both obtain and decode power control information transmitted via one downlink power control channel intended for one of the wireless terminals; hence, power level(s) associated with wireless terminals for which the power control information is unintended may be altered.
Further, conventional techniques may fail to account for situations where a base station and a wireless terminal lack synchronization as to a state of the wireless terminal. According to an illustration, the base station may transmit information to the wireless terminal to modify a state associated with the wireless terminal. However, an error may occur such that the wireless terminal fails to transition states in accordance with the transmitted information, and thus, a mismatch may exist between an actual state of the wireless terminal and the base station's view of the state of that wireless terminal.